My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Balham and are in fact using a Balham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Balham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Balham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My lawyer has discovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Balham. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer says that he must ensure that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
Completed the sale of my flat in Balham last January but our buyer keeps e-mailing daily to say her solicitor needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Post completion of your sale your solicitor is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion steps unique to conveyancing in Balham.
I have been told that property searches are the primary reason for obstruction in Balham house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Balham.
Given that I am about to part with 450k on a house in Balham I would like to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding thehome move prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Balham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Balham should be the figure that you are charged.
Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Balham. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Balham premises is First Floor Flat 152a Ramsden Road in June 2009. The net result of the tribunals calculation produced a premium payable of £23,975. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 56.67 years.
What makes a Balham lease unacceptable for security purposes?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Balham. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party. A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.